Dust Tales: The Story of Atmospheric Dust

About the activity

The story of dust is told through a series of visual comparisons. Through the Dust Tales interactive Google slide deck, we learn that deserts are the main sources of dust and that wind currents result in predictable patterns of dust deposition. We also discover that certain times of year are dustier than others and that when the Earth's climate was cooler, it was also dustier. 

The home page for the Dust Tales activity. Buttons for different topics to explore are arranged against a background showing the major dust source region in China, the Xiang basin.

Designed to have app functionality, Dust Tales allows visitors to navigate through the story independently or with the guidance of a facilitator. This activity would work well on a touchscreen display, iPad/Tablet stand, or a laptop cart within an exhibit space. Dust Tales could also be shared using student laptops or tablets in a classroom. 

From the link below, make a copy of the slide deck, and save it wherever you keep your educational content. View the Dust Tales slide deck in presentation mode on a smart device or laptop and click through to reveal questions and overlayed data layers. 

Activity Resources

 

Additional Resources

The Dust Tales educational slide deck uses the same data maps as the interactive slide deck but is organized for a lecture format and doesn't contain the interactive components of the interactive slide deck. From the link below, make a copy of the slide deck, save it to your drive, and edit as desired. 

Back to Exploring Atmospheric Dust and Climate